BEST FILM
Expectations and Other Products | Lithuania | 2023 | 15’
Director: Dali Rust
Producer: Jurga Dikciuviene Kaye
Cast: Egle Mikulionyte
Synopsis: A kiosk vendor stands in an empty market daydreaming and meeting strangers. “Commodities with souls, like people, are physical, although they don’t speak, they feel pain. Traders as intermediaries, goods pass through hands, constantly changing, like colored clouds” – A.I. blares from the radio.
BEST DIRECTOR
Code of Silence | Germany | 2022 | 18’
Director: Leonard Mink
Writer: Clara Scheiner
Producer: Leonard Mink
Cast: Thomas Bartling, Nils Kreutinger, Anke Sevenich, Frank Voß, Nora Kühnlein, Marc Boutter, Freda Schott, Simone Appel, Sebastian Dorn, Thomas Hessdörfer
Synopsis: In 2016, the Berlin police shot Hussam H. for unexplained reasons; the case has never been solved. Inspired by this incident, “Code of Silence” sheds light on esprit de corps using the example of a German police duo, facing the decision of whether they feel morally committed to the truth or to loyalty. While pursuing a suspect, police officer Thomas loses his service weapon in a scuffle with the fleeing suspect. His partner, and long-standing friend, Grebe sees no other way than to shoot at the suspect and kill him. Thomas is not entirely convinced that Grebe’s actions were right, and now has to decide whether his moral obligation is to truth or to loyalty.
BEST SCREENPLAY
Expectations and Other Products | Lithuania | 2023 | 15’
Writer: Liudas Parulskis
Director: Dali Rust
Producer: Jurga Dikciuviene Kaye
Cast: Egle Mikulionyte
Synopsis: A kiosk vendor stands in an empty market daydreaming and meeting strangers. “Commodities with souls, like people, are physical, although they don’t speak, they feel pain. Traders as intermediaries, goods pass through hands, constantly changing, like colored clouds” – A.I. blares from the radio.
BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Expectations and Other Products | Lithuania | 2023 | 15’
Actress: Egle Mikulionyte
Director: Dali Rust
Writer: Liudas Parulskis
Producer: Jurga Dikciuviene Kaye
Cast: Egle Mikulionyte
Synopsis: A kiosk vendor stands in an empty market daydreaming and meeting strangers. “Commodities with souls, like people, are physical, although they don’t speak, they feel pain. Traders as intermediaries, goods pass through hands, constantly changing, like colored clouds” – A.I. blares from the radio.
BEST LEADING ACTOR
Our Males and Females | Jordan | 2022 | 11’
Actor: Kamel El Basha
Director: Ahmad Alyaseer
Writers: Ahmad Alyaseer, Rana Alyaseer
Producer: Mais Salman
Cast: Kamel El Basha, Shafiqa Al Tal
Synopsis: A father and mother are faced with the painful task of washing and shrouding their deceased transgender daughter. Shrouding is an Islamic religious practice that is deemed obligatory to carry out upon death. But when no one agrees to wash her and shame falls onto the family, how far is the father willing to go to make sure his “son” is washed?
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Our Males and Females | Jordan | 2022 | 11’
Cinematographer: Samer Nimri
Director: Ahmad Alyaseer
Writers: Ahmad Alyaseer, Rana Alyaseer
Producer: Mais Salman
Cast: Kamel El Basha, Shafiqa Al Tal
Synopsis: A father and mother are faced with the painful task of washing and shrouding their deceased transgender daughter. Shrouding is an Islamic religious practice that is deemed obligatory to carry out upon death. But when no one agrees to wash her and shame falls onto the family, how far is the father willing to go to make sure his “son” is washed?
BEST EDITING
Our Males and Females | Jordan | 2022 | 11’
Editor: Abdallah Sada
Director: Ahmad Alyaseer
Writers: Ahmad Alyaseer, Rana Alyaseer
Producer: Mais Salman
Cast: Kamel El Basha, Shafiqa Al Tal
Synopsis: A father and mother are faced with the painful task of washing and shrouding their deceased transgender daughter. Shrouding is an Islamic religious practice that is deemed obligatory to carry out upon death. But when no one agrees to wash her and shame falls onto the family, how far is the father willing to go to make sure his “son” is washed?
BEST NARRATIVE
Cornucopia | Austria | 2022 | 08’
Directors: Ani Antonova, Dimiter Ovtcharov
Writers: Ani Antonova, Dimiter Ovtcharov
Producers: Ani Antonova Hristova, Svetla Tzotzorkova, Svetoslav Ovcharov
Synopsis: A man wanders in constant search and pursuit, driven by the longing for a magical cornucopia. His vicissitudes are brought to life on an ancient vase’s surface.
BEST DRAMA
Collectables | Denmark | 16’
Director: Jonas Frost
Writer: Jonathan Overgaard Munk
Producers: Astrid Gott Schmidt, Emil Johnsen
Cast: Clara-Aviaya Helsted Hvid, Jonas Bjerril, Sarah Madsen, Aksel Vedsegaard, Salvador Selaya Steensig, Dagmar Palsbro
Synopsis: During one fatal weekend life changes forever for young Alberte. From pure happiness when she finally loses here virginity to her big crush, August – to complete horror, when she finds out that August secretly have taken pictures of her and mistakenly shared it on the all-consuming internet.
BEST COMEDY
Expectations and Other Products | Lithuania | 2023 | 15’
Director: Dali Rust
Writer: Liudas Parulskis
Producer: Jurga Dikciuviene Kaye
Cast: Egle Mikulionyte
Synopsis: A kiosk vendor stands in an empty market daydreaming and meeting strangers. “Commodities with souls, like people, are physical, although they don’t speak, they feel pain. Traders as intermediaries, goods pass through hands, constantly changing, like colored clouds” – A.I. blares from the radio.
BEST HORROR
Alongside | Canada | 2023 | 03’
Director: River Park
Writer: River Park
Producer: River Park
Cast: Kaz Islam, Gabriel Romero
Synopsis: It’s a dark night as a jolly blues tune of the 1930s plays a car drives down a road in the middle of wide sprawling fields. A young boy is sitting in the car. The boy’s father is silently driving, looking tired from the almost endless drive. Board, the boy looks out the window. From the distance he sees something rusting in the bushes.
BEST FANTASY/SCI-FI
Radio Telescope | United States | 2023 | 17’
Director: Tanner Beard
Writer: Tanner Beard
Producers: Ashley Eberbach, Tomik Mansoori, Alix Van Aernam
Cast: Russell Quinn, Alexandra Chando, Jude Friedman
Synopsis: Set in 1984, a former NASA Scientist and his young son make a discovery in his make-shift laboratory located in the garage.
BEST DANCE/MUSICAL
ASHES, The myth of the heron and the 62 lakes | Canada | 2023 | 10’
Director: Charles-Antoine Thériault
Writer: Charles-Antoine Thériault
Producer: Graham GS
Synopsis: Over time, nature willfully and circumstantially adapts to its environment, but when the cyclical clash between evolution and cataclysm occurs, nature’s fight to reclaim its place often leaves scars that endure for many seasons. “Ashes” recounts the tale of a Heron and the 62 Lakes under his watchful eye, of the creation of these watery masses that now encompass the region of Saint-Hippolyte – a tragic tale of self-sacrifice that has become an eternal legend.
BEST STUDENT
Alma Vieja | United States | 04’
Director: Maximus Jupiter Corona
Writer: Maximus Jupiter Corona
Producer: Maximus Jupiter Corona
Cast: Isidro C. Corona
Synopsis: Shot on Super 16mm film with a Bolex, Maximus creates a documentary picture of what life might have been like for Isidro if his dad hadn’t passed away so early in his life.
BEST YOUNG DIRECTOR
Morgenblau | Germany | 2023 | 28’
Director: Louis Leininger
Writer: Louis Maria Leininger
Producers: Louis Ostheimer, Chervin Asgari Farahani
Cast: Annalisa Weyel, Paulina Muzulini, Sydney Gessler, Anton Janecke, Moritz Rauch, Lisa Lechner
Synopsis: A young woman’s recurring dream, which points to a transformative event in the mountains, leads her to embark on a journey to herself. Finally she needs to decide if she faces her demonds.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Danny | United States | 2021 | 10’
Director: Nicholas Manting Brewer
Synopsis: Danny had a normal life, but one day everything changed.
BEST EXPERIMENTAL
Lilītu | Germany | 25’
Director: Denis Herzog
Writer: Denis Herzog
Producer: Denis Herzog
Cast: Jón Gunnar Vopnfjörð Ingólfsson, Guðbjörg Anna Bergsdóttir
Synopsis: The hybrid film Lilītu tells a fictional story of the artist Jón Ragnarsson and documents in an unobtrusive way the Change of Vatnajökull and the consequences of climate change. Jón Ragnarsson lives independently on Vatnajökull, the largest Europe’s glaciers, completely cut off from civilization. Inspired of glacier movement, gloomy atmosphere and its sound, he paints pictures with its help, by tracing the structure of ice. As Jón one day, looking for new motifs, finds a permafrost corpse in a crevasse, he gets into a conflict of conscience. Should he report the found body and risk a large-scale archeological excavation on the glacier? Driven by loneliness, questionable emotional relationship with the corpse and his manichaean state of mind Jón keeps the corpse until he has completely processed it in his art and sunk it in the water glacier.
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
Float Away | Canada | 2023 | 04’
Director: Douglas Cook
Writer: Ellie Heath
Producer: Douglas Cook
Synopsis: “Float Away” pairs moving, personal lyrics with dark, atmospheric cinematography and stop-motion animation to express the feelings of isolation and hopelessness that come with mental health issues like anxiety, depression and addiction. The song and the visuals started out as separate projects, but work together to show how even the smallest steps can start the journey out of despair and into wholeness. Ellie: “The song came to me on a very anxiety ridden night. As I started playing those opening chords, I felt so protected.” We see a mole-like creature trapped by fear in a deep underground burrow, longing to find the strength and courage to move forward. Acceptance, mindfulness, and finding breath bring the ability to look into the darkness. To find the light in it. To let go and float away, returning rested and prepared for the inevitable. Doug: “It was cathartic for me to tell this visual story during lockdown. When I heard Ellie’s song, I knew we were telling the same story.”
BEST MINI SHORT
Break up 2.0 | Russian Federation | 2022 | 04’
Director: Elena Golysheva
Writer: Elena Golysheva
Producer: Elena Golysheva
Synopsis: Heroine has living through the break up and loosing herself into alcohol, social media and dating app. Realising how lonely is she indeed and run out from modern painkillers she went for friends support but instead she has found the sad but sober truth.
BEST NO/LOW BUDGET
Morpho | 2023 | 05’
Director: Soslan Chehoev
Producer: Natalia Skliarova
Synopsis: The film is a monologue on behalf of a young girl in whose life violence has appeared in a global sense, bringing death and loss, destroying friendship, love, care and leaving only memories and life in a new harsh reality. The narrative focuses on reality, flowing into flashbacks that delve into the atmosphere and the lost past in the company of friends. There are many metaphors involved in the film that resonate with contemporary events in the world.
BEST COMMERCIAL/AD/TVC
Nike “I will do it” | United States | 2023 | 01’
Director: Hei Lun Chan
Writer: Hei Lun Chan
Producer: Hei Lun Chan
Synopsis: It is a spec commercial for Nike. It is about three siblings fighting over a bill. During the fight, we see Nike products being featured through their moves.
